Huron Peak

After getting a good nights sleep (at least I did, not sure about Barry) we woke up around 5:30 and had breakfast. The day prior I had settled for a bagel and PB but this morning I decided to have my first dehydrated scrambled eggs and ham. After boiling enough water for a cup of coffee (Maxwell house filter) and my meal I had my breakfast.

For today's hike I decided to dress slightly different than the day before. For Belford's hike I wore a Underarmour baselayer, a synthetic short-sleeve shirt and my REI rainjacket (most of the day). My pants were a recent addition. I bought a pair of hiking pants from REI (Northface). Lots of pockets and zip-off legs. I wore 2 pair of socks; one was a heavy wool pair and the other was a thin liner pair. I also taped my feet, specifically my toes and heels. Makes a big difference. Need to work on my toes some more because the downhills were a little sore on my toes. My knees did fine. I love my trekking poles! Unfortunately I bent one (slightly), must have gotten it stuck between 2 rocks on the downhill. For an additionally layer I also took my Columbia fleece but didn't wear it much and definitely didn't need it. The pack I use is a Go-Lite, a little too big but works well for me. The water bladder is 2 liters and I also carried a 16 oz Gatorade. To eat I had 2 snickers, some trail mix, a bagel and a small bag of beef jerky. This was my first trip with jerky and I enjoyed it. I also took a Powerbar but didn't eat it. A couple of years ago I was fairly enamored of Powerbars but now I think Snickers are the way to go. The Powerbars are more for emergency (do these things have a shelf life?)

Back to this hike ... I decided to forgo my zip-offs and went with shorts only. I also used a different base layer, my Capilene undershirt I brought for sleeping. Over this I wore a short sleeve Columbia t-shirt (moisture wicking). I took the same outer layers, most of the day with my rain jacket on. I also have a pair of Mountain Hardware (sp?) gloves which I really like.

It was a little chilly around the campsite with my bare lower legs but I managed thanks to Barry building a campfire.

After finishing breakfast Barry wasn't 100% convinced about today's adventure. I decided not to ask too many questions thinking he might talk himself out of it. We loaded up the Jeep and headed down the 4WD road to the trailhead. We arrived around 7 and were on the trail by 7:10. There were several cars there already. One father and son team were loading up and heading out. They said they had completed the hike the day before. My boys and I had planned on doing the same last fall but woke up VERY cold and with wet shoes (theirs, not mine) and decided to call it an early day.


View of the 3 Apostles from the Huron trail

The trail is very nice and we made good time. Barry counted the switchbacks again and stopped for an extended break at 12,300 in the basin. Barry said he wasn't going on because he felt if he pushed further he would regret it later. I asked him if we going to head back down and he said he was staying and enjoying the view. I left him around 9:15 and continued on. From this point the trail has series of steps to help navigate and also minimize damage to the terrain. I made it to the summit around 10:20 or so and stayed just a few minutes to snap some pictures. While most of the trail was very nice (adopted by CFI a few years back), the last couple of hundred feet to the summit was very rough. By rough it was steep and didn't have very good places for footing.

I spoke with a couple of folks at the top. One man had come up Browns Peak and swung around to Huron. He startled me because he was on the east side resting and I didn't seem him (thought I was alone!). Another guy I spoke with said he has hiked Huron quite a bit because he owns some mining claims near the 4WD road. I asked if he owned one of the cabins in Winfield he said no but would like to.


Myself at the summit of Huron

Winfield is technically a ghosttown (at least that's the way I see it) but there are some cabins there, possibly 5-6. While they did look inhabited, they were all closed up with no immediate signs of life. I suppose they are more vacation/weekend homes than anything else. I think it would be pretty cool to have something like that. It would seem to pretty primitive what with no running water or electricity (all had outhouses and no signs of power cables running to them).

After chatting on the summit and began the slow trek down to the switchbacks. From there I made good time and hooked back up with Barry around 12. After having a Snickers and Gatorade we made our way down. I was surprised to still see quite a few people coming up. The weather was very overcast but we never saw any signs of bad weather. We completed the switchbacks and headed back to our campsite. We came upon a family reunion of sorts and found our quiet campground area invaded. We packed up the tents and headed back to Colorado Springs. I arrived home around 6.

This makes number 10 for me.

(Actual first attempt at Huron)

Memorial Day weekend, 2003 - Our family and some friends were going to camp out in BV (Crazy Horse Campground) and I decided to head early and try some 14ers. I arrived in Winfield on a Thursday morning and headed straight down the 4WD road for Huron. Although the road is rough the Jeep was doing great. I had traveled about 1/4 mile when I started hitting snow. I was still able to make good time when I got stuck. It was sort of like having some sort of out of body experience. Just before getting stuck my subconscious said "Hey, there are no tire tracks in this section of the road!" After getting stuck, really stuck, I got out and was in snow up to my knees. I'll admit I had some minor panic thinking of walking back to town (10 miles?) and flagging down a wrecker to get me out. Thankfully my 4WD, with the help of rocks, rocking, etc. was able to get out, going backwards to safety and parking. From here I packed up and headed out on foot. I suppose I dressed okay but I suddenly wondered how much snowshoes would cost. Once I passed the wooded area I was in I was able to make better time in the clearing just before the trail head. I attempted to make my way up the trail but there was all but no evidence of a trail and quickly decided to call it quits. I suppose this would be considered an attempt but it was more like scouting expedition.

Mt Belford

Since the family was out of town, I had been planning to put some 14ers under my belt. While I was initially intending to go by myself, an AF friend of mine, Barry Graham, was coming to town and I was able to talk him into going. Although he does like hiking he's at a distinct disadvantage because he lives in Florida. The altitude gains are always significant for me but for him they are phenomenal.

Barry flew into Colorado Springs on Friday morning and by 12 my Jeep was loaded and we were on our way to Buena Vista. After a quick stop in Woodland Park for lunch, we arrived in BV around 3. We got some gas and stopped at the Trail Head. If you are ever in BV and need to re-supply, I recommend this place. Nice, knowledgeable salespeople and very friendly. From there we headed a little further north to Chaffee County Road 390 and the town of Winfield, CO. Not really a town per se, but a collection of some buildings from the 1800's. We camped just across the creek from the town in a nice spot within view of the only vault toilet. After setting up our tents, we realized we didn't have bug spray and would need it. We got back in the Jeep and went back to City Market in town to get some spray. From there we decided to eat dinner in town at Jan's. We had been here before when we attempted Harvard last fall. Finished up dinner and went back to our camp site. We stayed outside talking and reading till about 8:30 or so and headed for bed.

We woke up the next morning at 5 and had some quick breakfast, finished dressing and made the short 4 mile trip to the trailhead (in my Jeep!). There were already a number of cars at the trailhead but we found parking and headed up the Missouri Gulch trail about 6:30. If you're not familiar with the trail, it quickly gains elevation with a number of switchbacks (Barry was keeping count but I can't remember how many).


Barry doing the kind of prep I tend to forget

After about an hour or so we crossed the creek and made our way to the fork. We did pass a number of tents approaching timberline and some beyond. I think that would be a neat way to approach these. That being, hike up and spend the night (day one), summit one or more the next (day two) and then come back down (day three). Back to our hike. We reached the fork and had already decided to go for Belford. Our initial thought was to start with MO and then swing around and bag Belford and then Oxford. We did see some people going for MO but most we spoke with were doing Belford.

Weather-wise it was cloudy the whole day, in fact it had even rained some while we were getting ready. No lightning but that didn't stop me from being concerned (more to come ...).

While we spoke with a number of people, all of whom seemed very polite, we spoke with one man who said he and his group had started at 1:00 A.M! When discussing the weather he said they ran into rain and some snow but the snow quickly melted off.

We were making good time until around 13,000 feet when Barry said I should go on by myself. He was determined to make it but felt he would need more time than I would. We both agreed it was good and I pushed on at a slightly faster pace, hoping to get Oxford as well. (Barry later said my leaving took some of the pressure off of him). I pushed myself a little more and also got more fatigued. I made it to the summit just before 11 and found just a few people there. Given the number of cars and people who had passed us I expected to see quite a bit more. After snapping a few pictures and getting a snack I started speaking with a gentleman I had leap frogged over a few times on the trail. He was getting ready to head towards Oxford (very cloudy by now) and seemed quite confident. My initial thought was to stay and wait for Barry but I decided to push on.


Barry on the summit of Belford



Summit of Mt Belford


View of Oxford from the summit of Belford.


View of Oxford near Belford's summit

My new found friend stayed ahead of me on the very steep climb down towards Oxford's saddle but I gained momentum on the level ground and continued the pace on the way up. I was probably within a few hundred feet of the summit and looked back towards Belford and saw very dark clouds and my "partner" turning back. Now I felt very vulnerable. I paused for a moment and then turned back. Big mistake as the weather never did turn bad, in fact it got slightly better. The trip back seemed to take forever, especially the climb back towards Belford. When I got back to Belford I found Barry there looking very happy and refreshed. He had been there about 45 minutes and seemed surprised that I had not made it. Oh well, there is always next time.

We decided to go down the "backway" on the Elkhead Pass trail. While this way was slightly longer it seemed less steep and more enjoyable. We made good time coming down with minimal stops. We reached the Jeep around 4 and headed back to camp. We both were quite tired and I was still (and still am!) disappointed I didn't get Oxford. I suppose I will probably try the same route and perhaps go after all 3.